Landmarks and Land Grabs

Landmarks and Land Grabs

What do the Pantheon, Parliament Buildings, CN Tower, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial have in common?

On February 7th, these landmarks and others were symbolically "Sold" as part of Oxfam’s global day of action to bring attention to the issue of Land Grabs.

Since October, Oxfam has been calling on the World Bank to take action on land grabs and institute a freeze on their own land investments until better policies are in place. The World Bank is in a unique position to act because it sets international standards for land investments, provides finance for land deals and advises developing countries on land investments.

Hundreds of tweets have reached over 3 million people calling on the Bank to freeze their land investments and take the lead in creating policies that ensure informed consent, increased transparency, and a fair deal when land is purchased around the world. Globally, the number of online conversations about land grabs has more than tripled since the campaign first started.

Last week, Oxfam released a new analysis which outlines the connection between governance and land purchases. In summary – countries with weak governance and regulations are most often selected by investors looking to secure land quickly and cheaply.

Oxfam Canada along with thousands of supporters has been calling on Canada's representative to the World Bank, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, to take a stand at the World Bank and put the issue of land grabs on the agenda.